In this account, we demonstrate that performing the synthesis of PtMn/C catalysts with constant N-2 sparging to remove dissolved oxygen from the deposition solution, yields improved catalysts. ICP-OES displayed similar compositions of the synthetized PtMn/C catalysts with and without sparging. XPS confirmed that by sparging with N-2 the amount of Mn oxides present were greatly reduced, yielding a larger fraction of the alloy phase. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry confirmed that PtMn/C catalysts prepared with N-2-sparging provide superior electrocatalytic activity toward ethanol oxidation compared with those prepared without sparging. It is therefore proposed that this simple modification to a widely used deposition method could be applied to other catalytic systems where the amount of surface oxides should be limited. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.012303jes] All rights reserved.